It plans to re-write the social contract between Government and citizens, recalibrate the balance of power and create little Bohemias where the stifling sense of order will give way to a carefully measured creative chaos that generates innovation and stimulates entrepreneurship.

The Government plans to give Singaporeans — known as a society where the influence of the Government is pervasive, and where it is commonplace for people to look to the Government to engineer solutions to problems — more space for _expression and participation.

Bar-top dancing would be tolerated, bars can open all night and chewing gum will again be permitted. Meanwhile, homosexuals are to be allowed into the civil service and voice their sexual preferences publicly, while the Government is set to unveil the first review of its infamous censorship laws in 10 years.

These are among the more than 200 recommendations for change in social, political and cultural policies contained in a 100-page report recently submitted by the chairman of the Remaking Singapore Committee, Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister of State for National Development, to Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong.

The report outlines a wide-ranging list of reforms, from promoting ethnic identity to rooting out workplace discrimination and easing censorship. It calls for creating financial assistance for the unemployed and recommends a less regimented educational system as well as more political dialogue.

The term Remaking Singapore was first coined by Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew nearly two years ago, but only gained momentum recently as signs emerged that Singapore is facing its most critical period in history.

Once among the world's fastest-growing economies, Singapore has been in and out of recession since the Asian crisis hit the region in 1997. It suffered its worst-ever economic contraction during the second quarter of the year when gross domestic product shrank at an annualised rate of 11.8 per cent.

Export growth has lost momentum, while the economy continues to flirt with deflation, showing only tentative signs of improvement. Unemployment, meanwhile, rose to 4.5 per cent at the end of March from 4.2 per cent in December and this could deteriorate to six per cent this year, a painful development in a society which once took job security for granted.

With the current state of the economy and the challenges that it faces, and amid worries that the wealth the island republic has accumulated could disappear, Singapore is trying to tinker with its Government-knows-best formula.

Part of the effort is to create a more liberal Singapore that stems from a long-standing effort to attract foreign professionals to the island as well as nurture its own creative class.

But can bar-top dancing, easier access to alcohol, chewing gum, homosexuality and the more than 200 recommendations reverse the bleak economic situation and remake Singapore as an attractive place for the next phase of economic development, aside from creating drunk homosexuals chewing gum and dancing on bar-tops? Or is it merely an attempt by the Government to micro-manage social trends that are well under way? More radical changes are needed if Singapore is serious about remaking itself. The Government must be sincere about the changes and must first change its mindset against policies that are discriminatory or carry a racial, gender or political bias. It must admit such problems exist and seek solutions.

The Government must allow more political freedom, dissent and cease using the courts to stifle political discussion and bankrupt political opponents.

There should be a level playing field for all Singaporeans in remaking the country's future regardless of race, language, religion, gender, sexual preference or political opinion.

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